George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

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GCM 82 STUDENT LIFE Progress made by

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Nostalgia spanks ‘Morp’ week Bobby sox, ponytails, and leather jackets? In high school in 1972? Why, sure! These well-known items from the fifties came to Marshall the week before Thanksgiving, as the “Morp” week got under way. “Morp” (that’s prom spelled backwards) began as a project for Mr. Ric Berard’s sociology classes. The goal was to hold a social event at school which all different types of people would enjoy and attend. The theme of the 1950’s was chosen as a common ground which nearly anyone could feel comfortable with, and students, teachers, alumni, and cafeteria staff were invited to at¬ tend. The fifties mood was carried out by decorations and activities during the week of November 13. Dancing lessons were held after school for those interested in learning the Little Apple, Big Apple, Jitterbug, Twist, or Bunny Hop. Posters, signs, and streamers decorated the halls, bearing such messages as, “To morp or not to morp — that is the question,” or “Morp it, you’ll like it!” Students quickly got in the mood of the week, and many wore fifties costumes, complete with Vaseline, ducktails, and long skirts. All in all an air of nostalgia pervaded GCM as No¬ vember 22, the date of the “Morp”, drew near. Opposite page: Greaser Ralph Ward shows his “Morp” style. Below left: Mike Miller and Tommy Slick” Culpepper pose for a picture before the big Rumble. Below right: Kellie Sullivan and Jeff Russelavage gossip about who’s taking who to the “Morp”.

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Climaxing Morp week, the ghosts of decades gone by glided through the halls to the girls gym. Dressed in costumes out of the past, including their fathers’ letter sweaters, borrowed pleated skirts, cuffed pants, and pearls, repre¬ sentatives of Marshall’s total popu¬ lation came for a good time. Sporting chains, hair slicked back in duck tails, cigarettes all but dropping from their mouths, and T- shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal ribald tattoos, the visiting images wandered in packs, circling the dance floor. Everyone had been prepared for the dance by a week of nostalgic references to the “good old days” of the 1950’s and late 40’s. Held the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, November 22, 1972, the Morp was produced by Mr. Ric Berard’s Sociology class to achieve the golden goal of total involvement at Marshall. After paying the pre¬ inflation admission price of twenty- one copper pennies, the lucky one out of every ten dance-goers received a free comic book. Inside, cokes were but a nickel and the victrola was stacked high with 45’s from the Teeny Bopper era. It was not an ordinary dance, by any means. return to past